Loading...Finally, our crèche is complete. The three Magi are here.(Except, we seem to have lost the shepherds and animals....)
Twelve days of Christmas, and here we are at Epiphany.
Or, the Feast of the Three Kings for Puerto Ricans and Persians
Or, Christmas Day for Orthodox Christians.
Or, maybe this story is a little mixed up, at least as far as facts are concerned. After all, it would definitely take more than 12 days for the Magi from the east to arrive. And, astrologically speaking, what was that bright light in the sky? A supernova? A comet? Plus, it’s likely that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were at “home” – which means Nazareth, right? Not Bethlehem? Yet, Herod’s priests and councilors send the Magi to Bethlehem.
There’s quite a bit in this story that doesn’t quite add up.
Yet the story captures our imagination because it is true,
even if not factual.
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Barbara Brown Taylor is one of the great preachers out there. She’s offered some reflections on this story:
“It’s not that facts don’t matter. It’s just that they don’t matter as much as the story does, and stories can be true whether they happen or not. You do not have to do archeology to find out if they’re genuine, or spend years in a library combing ancient texts. There is another way home.
“You let it come to life inside of you, and then you decide on the basis of your own tears or laughter whether the story is true. If you are in any doubt, it is always a good idea to watch other people who have listened to the story – just pay attention to how the story affects them over time. Does it make them more or less human? Does it open them up or shut them down? Does it increase their capacity for joy?” (Barbara Brown Taylor, Home By Another Way, p. 28)
One of the characters in this story that captures my imagination is Herod, the puppet king over the Israelites:
Herod, who acts in secret.
Herod, who is frightened.
Herod, who feels the earth shift under him when these Magi come with their question about the new king, and panics.
Herod, who calls together all his wise guys and tries to figure out what is going. on!!
Then, when he is reminded of
(or, maybe he’s hearing this prophecy for the first time...)
the prophecy from Micah,
he freaks out and calls the Magi from the East into his audience again and tries to enlist them.
He tries to use his power and influence and bullying to extract information from them and to coerce them into giving him more later.
He tries to create a cabal to overthrow this “king” that King Herod didn’t even know existed until earlier in the day (when someone else told him about it).
Herod, working in secret and in darkness and in manipulation and sneakiness, tries to keep his power.
He is the emperor with no clothes – an act we are familiar with.
But God!
God shines light on everything!
Star light, star bright!
Truth and freedom and grace!
It may be new and therefore confusing,
but it is out there in the open –
God’s grace in the form of this child.
God’s mercy revealed for us in Jesus.
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As the story goes, the wise men from the East each have a dream, the same dream, to NOT go back to Jerusalem after their visit with Jesus and his family. Instead, they went home by another way. They went home to shine and reflect the light of Christ as they went.
Herod is in a rage when he learned that he didn’t get his way. In one of the most violent and grievous temper tantrums every, Herod slaughters all of the Israelite children, aged two and younger. This event is known as the Slaughter of the Innocents. (Yet because of another dream, this time one that Joseph has, the Holy Family is safe because they run away to Egypt as refugees.)
But the light of Christ continues to shine:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the people,
but the Lord will arise upon you
and his glory will appear over you.” (Isaiah 60:1-2)
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Whether Herod and his sneaky, secretive ways,
politicians of this or any other age,
or other situations with scandals, gossip, and keeping secrets,
the truth is that acting in secret, out of fear or anxiety, or manipulating a situation in order to get one’s own way, does so much damage and causes so much hurt.
How do we get ourselves out of God’s way so that the light may shine?
How can we shine the light of truth – God’s truth of love, grace, compassion, and welcome?
We speak the truth of a matter --
not brutishly, but lovingly so that others may hear.
We listen for the truth others tell us –
even if they’re not so skilled in doing so kindly.
We listen for truth from God in visions, dreams, knowledge, poetry, music, and in other people.
And, we live the truth of forgiveness and reconciliation as people who’ve been loved back into wholeness; as people who know what it means to have been in darkness but who’ve seen the Light of the Great Star and follow.
We live as people who know the storied truth of God’s love today and everyday, and who find their way to home in God.
Amen
